We have a Kapla Block room at the entrance to our school. Its entire purpose is to allow students to build. Children come in the morning and at the end of the day to work on projects and to play. Sometimes parents help, mostly they don't. There is no organized curriculum connected to the blocks. There are no pictures of projects for students to refer to. There is simply a room full of blocks.
Not only is this a room for creativity, this is a room for navigating emotions and understanding the concept of impermanence. These block creations can't stay there forever. Sometimes they come down on purpose, sometimes by accident. But when they come down, there is often a sense of loss that kids must work through. At Synapse, social emotional learning is a core tenant of our school. Navigating emotions is one of the eight core SEL competencies that we teach. This Kapla block room has been a great vehicle for this important lesson.
